Chhapeli

Understand

Where Chhapeli comes from

Chhapeli (also written Chhapeli) is the women's spring-and-harvest dance of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, performed at the seasonal celebrations (the Harela, the autumn Harela, the spring) of the region. The dance is one of the most widely practised women's social dances of Garhwal and is regularly performed at the cultural festivals of the state. The Chhapeli is closely related to the wider northern Indian women's folk-dance tradition (the Jhumur of Garhwal-Kumaon, the Chapeli of the Jaunsari community, the Hurkiya Boli of the lower Garhwal) and forms part of the women's seasonal culture of the hills.

How it's practiced

Chhapeli is performed by women of the Garhwal community in a circle at the courtyard of the village at the seasonal celebration. The women dance in small coordinated steps and sing the Chhapeli songs (the song-cycle of the spring and the harvest) in the regional Garhwali dialect. Music is the dhol, the shehnai and the small Hurka drum. Costume is the everyday regional dress — the colourful ghagra-kurti or the sari of the Garhwal women, with the heavy silver jewellery of the community. Performances are at the courtyard and at the village mela.